https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1198743X14604614

Columbia University

- Historically, exaggerated fear of infection compared to other conditions because infection is rapid, invisible, and imminent; patient is a victim and a vector; high mortality and ever evolving
- Psychosocial consequences in previous acute outbreaks (SARS) included stigmatization caused by lack of preparedness that amplified physiological and psychological effects; fear, denial, frustration, three stages in the response to fear
- Psychosocial consequences of gradually evolving epidemics (AIDS): activism as double-edged sword where awareness augments health literacy but also enhances fear/sense of threat, especially when misinterpreted by media
- Fear of forthcoming epidemics (avian influenza, mad cow disease): highlighting subconscious and memories of past epidemics and how that distorts our perception and response to the perceived threat

Fear, germ panic, and psychosocial consequences of infectious diseases

Psychosocial consequences of infectious diseases

Feeling of anxiety, uncertainty and potential irrational behavior due to fear of an unknown disease.

Examples include:
-Feeling of being overwhelmed while watching a news segment about a potential new disease
-A nurse in an emergency department in a hospital asking for a long-term leave in order to be safe from infection from a new possible disease
-A person feeling wary of people of certain ethnicity due to the origins of a new disease. 


Germ Panic

Normal reaction to an evolving threat, preparing the individual. It is a both physical and mental reaction
Triggers:
Cerebral cortex, which leads to rational mental approach to current situation
Amygdala, which leads to a subconscious and potentially irrational approach


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